Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin, left, and San Antonio Spurs’ Boris Diaw, right, battle for a rebound during the second half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 26, 2015, in San Antonio. Los Angeles won 114-105. AP
SAN ANTONIO, United States – The Houston Rockets may be eyeing an NBA playoff sweep, but elsewhere in the Western Conference the Los Angeles Clippers weren’t about to let San Antonio make their series a runaway.
Chris Paul and the Clippers bounced back from the worst post-season game in club history on Sunday, defeating reigning NBA champions San Antonio 114-105 to knot their best-of-seven first-round series at two games apiece.
Paul produced 34 points and seven assists and the Clippers connected on better than 53 percent of their shots from the floor.
It was a massive turnaround from their 34.1 percent, 73-point shooting performance in game three, both franchise lows for the post-season.
Los Angeles snapped a two-game losing streak in the series and will try to edge ahead when they host game five on Tuesday.
The winners of the series will face either Houston or Dallas, and the Rockets hoped to punch their second-round ticket later Sunday, when they took a 3-0 lead over the Mavericks into game four.